5 posts categorized "DAVID BOIES"

As of midnight tonight, it will be exactly five years since my first post. It's hard to imagine it's been that long, and a lot's changed—the tone and subject matter are different, how often I post, my limits (no nudity in a couple of years due to ad constraints). I've devoted a crazy amount of time and money and energy to this blog for a very small financial return (you couldn't guess low enough), but it's always rewarding to have this forum with which to express myself, keep my writing ability fluid, perhaps influence a couple of people here and there, share obsessions with strangers (in both senses of the word) and learn new things.

Take That's Howard...can you believe this happened onstage at a pop concert?

Here are some of the posts that were most important to Boy Culture's history. For the uninitiated, some of the oldest ones refer to Boy Culture, the movie made of my novel; I started the blog at the time Boy Culture was being filmed as a way to keep people informed of the progress...and it all snowballed from there.

Subtle

Some of these posts are milestones when it comes to the hits they provided but most are filled with original writing and/or photography and video and are just the posts of which I'm proudest. I hope you'll take some time to click on them and send their links around to others—and some time is what you'll need...

MY ART

Boy-crazy

FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novella, novel and movie Boy Culture; might be my ultimate post.

From '07, one of my faves. Old iPhones were better because they were worse.

"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.

GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.

i-i-i (phone)

TriBeCa is for Boy lovers...

BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.

According to an analysis in The New York Times, opponents of yesterday's decision that ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional may find it "horrendous" and "the first salvo in a major culture war over same-sex marriage and the proper purview of the courts," but the decision was forceful and persuasive. Prof. Andrew Koppelman of Northwestern Law School says:

"If the Supreme Court does not want to uphold same-sex marriage, its job has been made harder by this decision." [Appeals courts] are supposed to take as true facts found by the district court, unless they are clearly erroneous. This opinion shows why district courts matter, even though the Supreme Court has the last word."

The 136-page opinion is fact-heavy and filled with relevant testimony, in stark contrast to the arguments made by those who would continue denying marriage rights to all.

The existence and success of Brokeback Mountain and Will & Grace are being cited by the anti-gay side in Perry v. Schwarzenegger as proof that gays are not all that discriminated against. (As if being on the teevee = having rights, and as if discrimination is something that can be tolerated in moderation.) Embarrassing.

Via Towleroad, check out Ted Olson's conservative case for marriage equality. It's quite persuasive. This comes as the Olson-Boies case goes to trial today—the case should take about two weeks, and there is every reason to believe our side will win...and that it will then be appealed to the Supreme Court for what could potentially be a sweeping decision on the issue.

I think instead of appealing to the liberal or the conservative case for marriage equality, we'd do even better to adjust our talking points to the Libertarian case—keep the G.D. government out of our private lives! Of course, the full Libertarian case would then go on to argue that no "marriages" should be the bailiwick of the feds, but I just think the argument "even if I don't agree with it, it's a free country" would resonate with the broadest possible number of people.

David Boies made a very reassuring appearance on Charlie Rose. I say this as someone who initially doubted Ted Olson's motives in joining Boies to tackle the issue of marriage equality before the Supreme Court. Boies states:

"Ted and I come from different ends of the political spectrum, but respect each other's legal skills and integrity and are both very much committed to the Constitution and to the rights that the Constitution protect. We each took an independent look at this issue and we each concluded that Proposition 8 violated the United States Constitution."

The two men got together when Olson approached Boies. Their joint argument is that the Supreme Court has said in more case than one that marriage is a fundamental right, and the Constitution gives equal access to fundamental rights; therefore, the Constitution prohibits the states from "prohibiting any class of people from getting married." This involves equal protection and due process.

HRC and other mainstream gay groups are against this aggressive action, but it's altogether possible that they're dead wrong. I'm pleased to feel better about the Boies/Olson team-up after watching this.